Lokmat sarpanch awards

Media Coverage | 21-06-2024

A total of 13 sarpanchs doing outstanding work in the State were honoured with the ‘State-level Best Sarpanch Awards’ at the ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Awards’ ceremony at Y B Chavan Centre in Mumbai on Thursday. Dignitaries seen with the award winning sarpanchs (sitting, from left) are Marathi film actor Makarand Anaspure, chairman of editorial board of Lokmat Media Group and former member of Rajya Sabha Dr Vijay Darda, Maharashtra agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde, noted actor Nana Patekar, editor-in-chief of Lokmat Media Group and former minister Rajendra Darda, group editor of Lokmat Media Group Vijay Baviskar, (standing, from left) Bhaiyyasaheb Babaraoji Kadu (Belora, Chandur Bazar, Amravati), Chandrakant Shankar Vhowale (Dhamner, Koregaon, Satara) ), Umeshbhau Ambatkar (Raipur/Hingna, Hingna, Nagpur), Manisha Rajendra Khairnar (Vadgaon, Dhule tehsil, Dhule), Anita Bhimrao Mane (Kavathepiran, Miraj, Sangli), Savita Sarangdhar Pande (Pimpalgaon Matha, Sangamner, Ahmednagar), Asmita Vishal Landge (Pimpalgaon, Lakhandur, Bhandara), Swati Devendra Kajale (Karsul, Niphad, Nashik), Prakash Kavdu Kharabe (Paldongari, Mohadi, Bhandara), Shivdas Abaji Kamble (Dawatpur, Ausa, Latur), Vijay Machhindra Kharat (Katphal, Sangola, Solapur), Manohar Mahadev Borkar (Rengepar/Kohli, Lakhani, Bhandara), Abhay Kumar Appaso Magdoom (Mangaon, Hatkanangle, Kolhapur) and Jayant Patil, founder president of All India Sarpanch Parishad. – Datta Khedekar

My village is my country, I will develop it 

Makarand Anaspure wins hearts of audience at ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Awards’ ceremony

Lokmat News Network

Mumbai

“My village is my country and I will develop it. No matter how much work I have to do, I will do it. This is the resolve all sarpanchs should make. We are from the working class, and the caste of our village is that of the villagers. Everyone should declare only one caste. The village should resolve that we are just villagers and workers,” exhorted senior actor and founder of Naam Foundation Makarand Anaspure, amid a huge round of applause from the audience. He was speaking as the chief guest at the ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Awards’ ceremony.

“Sarpanchs should plant fruit trees on the school premises and use the produce to pay poor students’ fees. They should plant trees in the names of students and ask them to bring two bottles of water to school every day, one for themselves and one for the tree. These children may not plant trees in the future, but they will not let the trees be cut down, which can save this country. There will be a lot of development, but what will we do with development if there are no trees? When villages change, the migration into the cities will stop,” said Anaspure.

He said, “our education system has killed the value of labour. A simple BA third-class graduate refuses to step into the field or farm, saying ‘I am a graduate’. This education system has degraded the value of labour. Therefore, every sarpanch in every village should establish a playground and a gym for sports, and invite everyone to work hard. Everyone should come together and work on rural development. The Naam Foundation has been working on rural development through public participation for the past nine years.”

“We celebrate various festivals. The entire economy for these festivals should move within the village itself. The village should produce everything needed for the festivals. Each sarpanch should firmly resolve to establish skill management in their village and give work to the village youth. If they don’t have work, they will remain idle and become destructive,” he noted.

‘Caste politics disturbed harmony in villages’

“I have never engaged in politics based on caste or religion. If I am ever faced with such a situation, I would prefer to stay home and eat chutney-bhakri rather than indulge in such politics,” said the agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde while addressing the ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Award’ ceremony.

He noted that after the Lok Sabha elections, social harmony in some parts of the state has been disturbed. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s self-ruled kingdom was not named after him or the Bhosales; it was called the ‘Rule of the People’. Since Shivaji Maharaj’s time, an inclusive village system of various castes and religions was established, but the same is now disintegrating. Munde emphasised the need to preserve this social harmony and promote the inclusive village system initiated by Shivaji Maharaj. Munde highlighted the challenges faced by the sarpanchs in implementing village projects. He pointed out that while urban projects worth crores of rupees are approved swiftly, sarpanchs are forced to struggle to secure a fund of even `10 lakh for their villages.

* Sarpanch of the Year – Abhay Kumar Appasso Magdoom, Mangaon, Hatkanangle, Kolhapur

* Health – Chandrakant Shankar Vhowale, Dhamner, Koregaon, Satara

*Educational Facilities – Swati Devendra Kajale, Karsul, Niphad, Nashik

*Emerging Leadership- Vijay Machindra Kharat, Katphal, Sangola, Solapur

*Power Management- Manisha Rajendra Khairnar, Vadgaon, Dhule,

*Village Security- Asmita Vishal Landge, Pimpalgaon, Lakhandur, Bhandara

*Water Management – Shivdas Abaji Kamble, Dawatpur, Ausa, Latur

*Agricultural Technology – Savita Sarangdhar Pandey, Pimpalgaon Matha, Sangamner, Ahmednagar

*Environment Conservation – Manohar Mahadev Borkar, Rengepar/Kohli, Lakhni, Bhandara

*Govt Scheme – Prakash Kavalu Kharabe, Paldongari, Mohadi, Bhandara

*Sanitation – Umeshbhau Ambatkar, Raipur (Hingna), Nagpur

*Basic infrastructure – Bhayyasaheb Babaraoji Kadu, Belora, Chandur Bazar, Amravati

*Administration / E-Governance / Public Participation- Anita Bhimrao Mane, Kawthepiran, Miraj, Sangli

‘One village, one gram sevak’ essential for

village development’

For the development of each village in the state, the principles of “one village, one gram sevak” and “one village, one gram panchayat” should be implemented. The state government should make efforts in this direction, demanded the chairman of editorial board of Lokmat Media Group and former member of Rajya Sabha Dr Vijay Darda. Dr Darda highlighted the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave and Sant Tukdoji Maharaj in village development. He pointed out that esteemed leaders like Vasantrao Naik, Sudhakarrao Naik and Vilasrao Deshmukh, who built their political career starting from gram panchayats, have worked a lot for village development. Today, villages are becoming deserted due to increasing migration towards cities, which is a matter of concern. Farmers’ issues are often discussed but they are still being neglected, he said. Dr Darda also emphasised the need for special efforts in water management, which is crucial for farmers.

‘We elected you

for our welfare’

Whether in power or opposition, politicians should work for the welfare of the people. We elected you not for your own benefit but for ours, so you should prioritise our welfare. The most important thing is not to work well only because you want to be re-elected next time. Since you have been elected, it is your responsibility to work well,” said veteran actor Nana Patekar, reminding politicians of their responsibilities and expressing confidence that they will do good work.

Nana Patekar congratulated the winning sarpanchs and expressed optimism that they will continue to do good work in the future. He also made stern remarks on the present political situation. He said one should work with those who stood against them in the elections. A strong opposition keeps a check on the work of those in power. Basically, no one offered you sweets to stand in the election; once you have taken the responsibility, you must not run away from it. You come with nothing and leave with nothing.

New leadership should emerge

Nana Patekar praised the good work being done by the Naam Foundation and appreciated Makarand Anaspure’s efforts.

Why are you late?

As Nana Patekar was addressing the ceremony, agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde arrived. Seeing him, Nana Patekar asked, “Why are you late? Please explain.” To which Munde replied, “I will mention it in my speech.” However, Nana was not satisfied with this. Munde then said, “Even though I am a leader, I cannot lie to Nana. To be honest, I had a doctor’s appointment this morning due to a slight illness, which caused the delay.”

Highlights

During their speeches, Nana Patekar and Makarand Anaspure entertained the audience with both advice and humour. Particularly, at the end of Makarand’s speech, the audience requested him to deliver one of his famous dialogues. To this, he humorously responded, “Do you tell a doctor you meet on the street to pull down your pants and give you an injection?” This witty remark had the audience laughing non-stop for five minutes.

A selfie point was set up outside the centre. The award-winning Sarpanchs took pictures with their colleagues, posing enthusiastically at the selfie points.

Sarpanchs and social workers from all over the states attend ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Awards’ ceremony at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre  in Mumbai on Thursday.                 Datta Khedekar

Nana Patekar having a chat with sales head of BKT Tyres Viren Rodrigues.

National sales president of Society Tea Salil Kerkar being welcomed by Rajendra Darda.

Winning villages to get devp funds of ₹25L each

Minister Girish Mahajan announces

Lokmat News Network Mumbai

The Gram Panchayats whose Sarpanchs have received the ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Award’ on Thursday will be given a development fund of `25 lakh  each, announced Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan.

The ‘Lokmat Sarpanch Awards’ ceremony was held on Thursday at Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan in Mumbai in which 18 Sarpanchs from the state, who have done excellent work for the development of their villages, were felicitated. Along with minister Mahajan, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, veteran actors Nana Patekar and Makarand Anaspure, chairman of editorial board of Lokmat Media Group and former member of Rajya Sabha Dr Vijay Darda, editor-in-chief of Lokmat Media Group Rajendra Darda, group editor Vijay Baviskar, and editor of ‘Lokmat’ (Mumbai) Atul Kulkarni were present at the event.

Minister Mahajan congratulated ‘Lokmat’ for starting a commendable tradition of awarding Sarpanchs across the state for their outstanding work. He mentioned that such awards create competition among villages and motivate Sarpanchs to strive for the development of their villages. “Through these awards, ‘Lokmat’ has contributed to the development of villages”, he said.

While felicitating the Sarpanchs for their work, Mahajan also reminded them of their responsibilities. He emphasised that women are a crucial component in uplifting rural areas.

“The government is working to empower women’s self-help groups to improve their living standards. Many self-help groups in the state are exporting their products, and their turnover is in the billions. Sarpanchs should assist these groups and resolve their issues. The government aims to make all villages open defecation-free, and every household should have a toilet. Sarpanchs should take the initiative in this regard,” Mahajan added.

Our government has decided to elect Sarpanchs directly from the people. Previously, many malpractices took place in the election of Sarpanchs that hindered the development of villages. However, with the direct appointment of Sarpanchs now, they can work freely, leading to the allround development of villages. Earlier, Sarpanchs were changed every six months, and I have also worked as a Sarpanch.

 

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